I just wanted to point out the big difference between the Fighting Sioux nickname and nicknames like the Fighting Irish and the Vikings, which a lot of people don't seem to understand. Many people say that "I'm Irish/Scandinavian, and I don't take offense from the Fighting Irish/Vikings nickname". Of course you don't, why should you??
Notre Dame was founded by catholics and throughout the university's history it has had a close connection to Irish-Americans. I've read about the many versions of how the Fighting Irish nickname was adopted, but the point is that the university and the Irish majority there (I'm not sure if there were many non Irish-Americans attending the school at the time..) decided to adopt the nickname as it described and symbolized the institution's history and the people belonging to it very well.
When it comes to the Minnesota Vikings I read that the first general manager of the team suggested the name since it was warrior-like and represented the many Scandinavians and the Scandinavian traditions in Minnesota. I'm not sure if there has ever been any protests against this nickname, but I doubt it. Even though Scandinavians today can say that they are ancestors from the Vikings, they have difficulties to identify themselves with the people who lived during the Viking era. The vikings were mostly conquering other lands and peoples; killing men, women, children, munks and nuns; raping women, children and nuns (and who knows..probably men and munks as well...); burning down houses and villages; and stealing and robbing everything they laid their eyes on. The Vikings nickname refers to these warrior-vikings, who roamed around from 900-1100 AD- about 1000 years ago. So most Scandinavians wouldn't feel offended about the nickname since it represents a group of people and a way of living that in a sense doesn't exist anymore. And, the vikings were the ones who did the bad things; the vikings were not the victims.
The Fighting Sioux nickname however is very different. It was adopted by UND when I'm sure very few Native Americans attended the university (if any), and it was adopted at a time when Native Americans had little rights and probably did not have a big say in the matter. A lot of people say that the nickname was adopted to honor the Sioux, but I'm not sure if Native Americans were looked upon in high regard by the people at the time. I'm sure the Fighting Sioux nickname was chosen as it represented something aggressive and warrior-like, which perhaps is not how the Sioux view themselves. Also, while the Vikings "don't exist" anymore, the Sioux people still exists.
This reply was way too long and I'm not sure that I got my thoughts across very well - I apologize for that. However, my point is that the Fighting Irish nickname was adopted by Irish-Americans, the Vikings nickname was adopted by Scandinavian-Americans, but the Fighting Sioux nickname was not adopted by the Sioux. It's great that many Sioux people like the name and feel that it honours them, but it is also important to listen to those Sioux people who feel offended.
And to all the Irish-Americans and Scandinavian-Americans out there; don't whine and complain about the Fighting Irish and Vikings nicknames...you gave the nickname to yourselves!
